WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO GET FOR FOLLOWING JESUS?

Mark 10:28-31

²⁸ Peter started saying to him, “Notice, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, ” I guarantee you, there is no one who has left a house or brothers or sisters or a mother or a father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the excellent message, ³⁰ who will not welcome a hundredfold now in this age– houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions– and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

grace is not fair

The disciples’ world had just been rocked. They had thought that God favoured the wealthy since they had been blessed. Consequently, they thought that if they just invested themselves in Jesus and his teaching that they would eventually be blessed because of that investment. Then Jesus comes along and pops that balloon by saying that it is tough for a wealthy person to even enter the kingdom.

So, Peter jumps in with his “What about us?” argument. He was reminding Jesus of the disciples’ own investment. Jesus tells him that any investment in the kingdom will pay off today – but he adds the caveats that there will be persecution, and that the first will be last and the last first. In other words, there is no guarantee that the extent of your investment will be the degree of your dividend. The goal is to build Christ’s kingdom, not ours.

LORD, help us to focus on expanding your kingdom, not our bank accounts.